Getting Settled

Furnishing your home:

There are plenty of furnished flats available for expats who aren’t shipping their furniture to Budapest , but these furnishings can vary in both quality and quantity, so it’s not a good idea to rent a place sight unseen. Appliances tend to be small by North American standards , and dryers tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Some expats negotiate with their landlord if they find the inventory not quite up to their standards; the higher the rent, the more likely you are to be successful in negotiating changes or additions. Others choose to purchase items themselves and either sell them before departure or ship them home.

There’s a large array of quality furniture stores in Budapest to choose from, with contemporary design most plentiful. Kiraly utca and surrounding streets in downtown Pest are home to a number of trendy furniture and interior design shops , and other shops can be found scattered throughout the city. Kettemplom Galleria in Pest offers sophisticated Hungarian country furniture and accessories with a French country feel , and La Meridiana in Buda offers Mediterranean decor.

If your taste runs to antiques, there are numerous antique shops throughout the city in which to browse. Many dealers can be found on Falk Miska utca, which runs parallel to the Danube in central Pest, as well as at the Esceri Piac, a huge flea market in the outer reaches of Pest.

Not surprisingly, there are two IKEAs – one in Buda and one in Pest – as well as two Kikas (an Austrian chain similar to IKEA), two Inkus and two Domus, all offering affordable furniture and a variety of household items.

The Budapest Design Guide is published twice yearly and is an invaluable resource if you’re looking for higher quality shops and services. It’s available free of charge in participating shops throughout the city, with text in English as well as Hungarian. There’s a website (www.budapestdesignguide.hu) as well, but only in Hungarian, so you’ll probably have to use an online translator to make use of it.

Laundry:

Virtually all rentals come with a washing machine , but dryers are not as common (though many landlords renting to expats include them). If necessary, they can be purchased at a number of big box stores such as Auchan, Cora, Media Markt and Saturn. Dry cleaners can be found throughout the city , but laundromats are few and far between.

Domestic help:

Live-in domestic help is not common in Hungary , and most expats hire help on a weekly basis for cleaning, laundry and ironing. Some people will also do cooking and childcare . Services are generally very good and relatively inexpensive. The best way to find good, reliable help is through word of mouth, but you can also check notice boards at schools and grocery stores.

Child care:

As mentioned above, some domestic help will also provide child care , and word of mouth is the best way to find someone. You can also check out www.sitters.hu , a local database for babysitters, and either www.greataupair.co or www.newaupair.com for au pairs. Some of the expat organisations also organise play groups, including the North American Women’s Association (www.nawabudapest.com) and the British Women’s Association (http://bwa.expatshungary.com ) .

There are a number of pre-school and kindergarten programs offered in Budapest, including:

A-Z International Centre For Children / Ages 2-6

Zolna utca 2, District XII (www.atoz.hu )

Greenhouse Nursery & Pre-School / Ages 3-6

Szarvas gabor utca 27, District XII

Happy Kids International Kindergarten

Fodor utca 36, District XII (www.happykids.hu )

Plumpudding Protectory / Ages 2-4

Gyergyo utca 6, District II (plumpudding@mailbox.hu )

Superkids Pre-School & Kindergarten / From age 2

Csopaki utca 8, District II (www.superkids.hu )

Winnie The Pooh Kindergarten / From age 1

Rozse utca 4, District XII